Swimming pool



P. DELANY Feb. 25, 1930'.

SWIMMING POOL Filed Sept. 1 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 uvvglvron v are W, '1

w/ TA/ESS 47W YfUN-ITED "s'rA Patented F b. 25, 1930- PERCY DELANY,- 0F"PHILADELPHIA, rENNsYLvANIA, ASSIGNOR 0F ONE-HALF? r0 v EDWARD soHoEPrE,or PHILA ELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA SWIMMING Poor.

,The rapidly increasing demand for facili- I if tiesto provide'balthing,swimmingand diving aquatic recreation, has recentlyresulted,

" in the construction offnumerous pools for the purpose of satisfyingsuch demand; Ithas been found impractical;h0wever,to provide the maximumenjoyment for an average group of bathers 1n a' single sw mmmgpoolterference, sometimes dangerous,v between small children, bathers,swlmmers and Q, divers, It has been customaryto provide a v singleswimming pool withrra sloped 1or stepped bottom ;to provide the varyingdepths demanded by the several classes. "Thiscplan has been foundwasteful in that there is considerable waste water' 'betwee n the depthsadapted for the separate classesand it has been found extremely'dangerousto so 0on i struct the pool that there is a sharp'declivitybetween the various-"depths since this results in bathers unexpectedly.stepping into water a 4 ing theloss of revenue from the-usersrof the 7 7dangerously-deep.

a "A further disadvantage use of single pool arises from the. waste ofwater 5 and'the"temporary'putting of thepool out of Leo " use when thebottom and walls of the poolare Y 39 of the water 'beingrequired whichis usually cleaned, the withdrawal or removal Ofl all drained awayand-i'si no longer available for I the pool when it is to be refilledflThe cost of I A water in some locations is aheavy item of eX- pense andthe loss. of revenue while the pool is'not capable of use isirrecoverable,

5 My inventionis directed to overcoming these a L; and otherdisadvantages and in doin'g so I; 3' provide a plurality ofinterconnected pools w I of-varying depths, each being adapted to therequirements of thei several classes of patrons. In-practice-I haveconstructed aswim- ,ming p'ool unit. comprising a wading-pool forsmallchildren, a bathing pool for bathf'ers or noneswimmers', a pooladapted for swimmers: only and a d ving pool, each of.wh1ch'1senclosedby four walls, portlons of.

if thejwalls of the main or bathing pool serving I .g-also as a wall forthe'other three pools which I- havecmentionedr myimproved swim-1;

f particularly injury which might result from Application filedSeptember '14, 1928. Seria1 l To.306,0'Z'9.

ming pool unit I also provide suitable fluent and efiiuent' pipes andvalves therefor whereby when it-is desired to exhaust'the" water fromone of the pools-for cleansin purposes the water may be carried to an,55 stored'in one or more ofv the other pools andf" after .thecleaningfoperationhas been fin:

ished, returned to the cleaned pool. 'By his improvement I save the costof water and also expedite the cleaning operation where- 50 by the poolwhich is being cleaned is out of use for a minimum length'of time,

, .Moreover, by providing a plurality'ofin- I terconnected poolsiin' myswimming, pool I unit, each being adapted for the use'of p&'; .e5

trons of the different classes abovementionedf'; e a

the likelihood of accidental injury to a patron from collision ispractically'eliminated,

Another desirable ob'ect derived f'rom my l being struck by a diver.-

invention resides in the fact'that all of the pools: except the onebeing cleaned may be kept in operation meanwhile, thereby avoidpoolswhich would otherwise result, I

The. storage capacity for the waterwhich 'is removed from a pool isobtained by pro-1 viding the scum gutters which are provided in eachwall of each pool, preferably about a 80 foot from p of h walls, withdrain valves which when closed operate to prevent pendent on the areaofthe pool and theloca-lf tion of the scum gu tters.- a I also preferablyconstruct" the partitions or'wallsof the pools of sufficient width to 3permit convenient arangement therein of the-p.

piping and afford ready access'thereto,.the

deck resting upon the wallsproviding-sulfi cient' area for-awalk orpromenade around a each pool and also as a cover for the pipes. Thepiping arrangement is such. that the; P5

entire filter and pumping plant, can be usedsimultaneously OM11 of'thepoolsgor concenrtratedon a plurality of the'm'o rl on but one.

Furthermore, the drainlinesorpipes from theibottoms of the poolsj alllead separatelyto 9 l the sump which permits the drainage of one or moreof the pools without interfering with the remaining pools.

The method and means whereby the objects of my invention may be attainedis described hereinafter more particularly, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings in which reference characters indicate like parts.7

Fig. 1 is a plan view of one embodiment of my swimming pool unit and thesump and filter plant; Fig. 2 is a sectional view on the line 22 in Fig.1; Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional View on the line 33 in Fig. 1; Fig. tis a diagrammatic representation of the arrangement of the piping systemand other apparatus for use in operation of the pools. iVhen my swimmingpool unit is to be installed outdoors it is desirable that suitableterrain be chosen so that the pool bottoms and walls maybe supportedthereby.

In a preferred form of my invention, as

illustrated in the drawings, the swimming poolunit comprlses a bathingor mam pool A preferably constructed with a gently sloping bottom ofsuch depth as to provide recreation for non-swimmers but of insufficientdepth to be dangerous for such persons and may therefore be soconstructed as to provide a water depth of about three feet at the edgesof the pool, the depth increasing toabout 'four and one-half feet at thedeepest part;

swimming pool B is preferably constructed so as to provide a water depthtoo great for non-swimmers and of sufficient length to provide areasonable distance for swimming; diving pool 0 is constructed so astoprovide sufficient depth to permit safe diving from diving boards; andwading pool D is relatively shallow, being of such depth that childrenmay safely bathe therein A pit or sump E is provided for the storage ofwater drained from the pools, to which is connected a pump F and afilter or other purification plant G.

The partitions 1 between adjacent pools are preferably formed ofconcrete and are of the bulkhead type, are constructed so as to providespace therein for the water pipes, and comprise two separate walls 2 and3 spaced from each other, thereby providing an opening extendinglongitudinally between them .for enclosing the piping arrangement.

A deck 4 rests upon the tops of the walls 2 and 3 and serves to enclosethe pipes and also as a walk for the patrons. .The outer walls'5, whichalso are preferably of concrete, of the several pools are provided withdecks 6 which may be used aspromenades and beneath which pipes may beplaced.

The bottom 7 of pool A preferably slopes downwardly from the edges ofthe pool, the

' greatest depth of the pool being near the center thereof above thedrain 8. The bottom 9 of pool B preferably slopes downwarch lyfrom oneend toward the other end, the greatest depth being over the drain 10.The bottom 11 of pool 0 preferably slopes clownwardly from one sidetoward the other side,

affording the greatest water depth above the drain 12, and the bottom 13of .pool D slopes downwardly from its edges towards the center of thepool, providing the greatest water depth over the drain l3.

Extending throughout all the walls of the ters are provided drains 15which conduct the water and floatage flowing into the scum guttersthrough suitable piping 16 into the pit or sump E. It will be understoodthat while the drains 15 of the scum gutters are open the water withinthe several pools will be maintained at the scum gutter level, the

excess of water which would otherwise be provided by the continuouspumping of fresh water into the pools flowing into thescum gutters andpassing therefrom to the pit or' sump through suitable ducts and pipes.'Valves 17 are interposed in the pipes 16. and

when these are closed the discharge of water from the pools through thescum gutters is stopped. I utilize these means for preventing dischargeof water from the pools through the scum gutters so as to providedesired storage capacity for water as will appear hereinafter.

In diving pool LG I preferably provide diving boards18 arranged atdifferent heights to suit the Varying degrees of skill and competency ofindividual diversvand on the opposite end of'the pool I preferablyprovide ladders 19 so disposed opposite to1 the diving boards that thedivers may reach the ladder nearest them without cross ing the pathsofother divers, thus resulting in the minimizing of the danger of diverscolliding with or falling upon each other.

Connected by suitable piping 20 to the sump E is the pumping plant Fwhereby water from the sump E may be pumped into the purificationapparatus, Gr and thence through suitable piping 21 back to the pools,

preferably through the several ports 22 disthrough the central fountain23 in pool A. Valves 24 are provided in influent piping 21 posed withinthe walls of the pools and,

whereby the flow of water into any pool may be stopped as desired.

Pipes 25 lead from the drains in the bottom of each pool whereby, whendesired, the water in each pool maybe conducted to the sump E, pipes 25being provided with valves 12 26 controlling the flow of watertherethrough.

D and the large pool A and between pools B and C' are connecting balancepipes 27 pro- Between each of the smaller pools B, C and I vided withvalves. 28, which when open will permit the water to fiowbetween theadja- I vcent connected pools when there is a difierence in the waterlevel. In theordinary opv erationof theipool's these valves 28 are keptI :opened and the pump operates to maintain a-constant circulation ofwater through all the pools and to maintain the body of water 7 10.1pools being admitted to the system from the i outside main 29 leadingfrom a source of sup- I plynot shown. A dram 301s prov ded'to v permitdraining of'the entire system into a in each pool level with the edgeofthe scum gutter, water for the initial filling of. the

sewer. It will be understood that during the ordinary operation of thepools after the 1m- 'tial filling the main 29 and thedrain are closed bysuitable valvesp Then it is desired to empty one of an pools forcleaning or for anyotherreason the operation is as. follows: The valves24 through which the water. fromthe' filter flows into thepool desiredto'be emptied are first closed, preventing the admittanceof water intothat pool. Thevalv es 26 in the pipes leading from the drains in all theother pools" are then closed and tlie valve 26 in the'pipe 25 leadingfrom the drain .of the pool being emptied is then opened, thuspermittingthe water from that pool to How into thesump E I as that pool is theonlysource of water now flowing into the sump. From the sump E the wateris pumped by the pump F through the filter'G and into theremaining pools,"escape of the water therefrom-through thescum gutbetween thelevelof the edge of the scumgutters and the level of the top' of thewalls of the pool. It will be understood by those fa-- miliar' with theart that this space'between the edge of thescum gutterand the top'of thewall-is ordinarily about a foot in height :jabove the normal water leveland although I do not confine myself to any particular di- [mensionsitwlll be apparent that a large vol- I: umeiof' water may be stored. inthisspace and I saved. When it is desired to refill'the emp- ,tied-poolafter cleaning it is necessary only 'to open the valves 28 in thebalance pipes 27. ,7 thereby permitting the water inall the poolstoadjust itselfto thesame level 'after'whichv the valves'28 may beclosed and the operation -ofthe poolcontinued in the ordinary way. w

While I have,,herein described andin the L accompanyingl drawingsillustrated "a preferred f orm -of my invention with consider:

- able particularity, I do not thereby desire or-intend to limit myselfspecifically thereto as it will l e-understood that changes of cornclaim and desire to protect struction and arrangement may be made ifdesirecljwithoutdeparting from thespirit d' p of the invention asdefined in the applended claimst- I aving thusjdescribed my invention, I

by Lctters Patentof theUnited States:

transferring water: from one pool to another pool, and means forretransferrlng the water.

2. In a swimming pool unit comprising a 1. A swimming pool unitcomprisinga plural -ty of interconnected 130018,;[II183J1S for pluralityof pools", means to exhaust the Water i from one of the pools andtoconvey said water to another pool, and means to equalize the: waterlevel in all the pools by gravity.

3. In a swimming poo-l unit comprising a pluralityof pools, a pump, afilter plant,

pipes for conducting the water from theseveralpools to the filter plant,means for selec-; tively exhausting water from one pool, and

means for conveying-said water into one or more of'the remaining pools.I

for conducting the gwater from the several pools to the filter plant,means for selectively 5. In a swlmmlng pool unit, a plurality of "4. Ina swimming pool unit'comprising a plurality of pools, a pump, a filter.plant,.pipes.

bathing pools, scumjgutters disposed about the walls of said pools at.thewaterlevel,

or. Q drains. forsaid scum gutters, a sump, pipes leading from saiddrains tosaid sump and adapted to convey water to said sump, controlvalves in said pipes, a filtering apparatus, ap'ump adapted to forcewater from the sump through said filtering apparatus,"

p'ipes'adapted to convey water from said fil tering apparatus to saidpools and to distribute a portion thereof to each, control valves insaid last mentioned pipes whereby the deliv ery of waterto any of saidpoolsmay be made selectively, a drain .in the bottom of each of saidpools, pipesadapted to oonduct' water 7 from said drains to saidsump,control valves disposed in said last'mentioned pipes adapted v 3to'selec tively control the flow of water from 1 the water from the poolbeing emptied thus said drains to said sump, pipes disposed between andconnecting adjacent pools adapted to convey water from each to theother, adja} cent pools and controlvalves in said last men tioned pipes,

.6. A swimming pool unit comprisinga p n-1 5 rality of bathing pools, apiping-system adapted to maintain continuous circulation of ,f

means t0 'deliver'to said remaining pools the water withdrawn from saidpool and means l- -.1

to retain said water in said pools.

7 In a swimming pool unit comprising a plurality of adjacent bathingpools, the method of Withdrawing the Water fromone of said pools ofstoring saiclwater in one or more of the remaining pools and ofrefilling the pool from which the Water has been withdrawn by conductingWater thereinto "from said remaining pools. V

In Witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 13th day ofSeptember, 1928.

PERCY DELANY.

